The Transformative Learning Project – preparation continues.
Posted by shanetechteach on November 3, 2009
Yesterday I invited two staff members to be the teachers in this project. Both seemed excited by the invite which is a good thing. I have purposely picked them for a number of reasons.
Staff member A sits in the main HPE staffroom and I believe has the potential to be an excellent teacher. 2010 will be their 3rd year at our school. They are well organised and always working within timelines from myself or administration. They have spent large amounts of time preparing resources for their classes, and although this will change tact with this project the time commitment is important. Their learning management needs refinement, and I believe this process will allow them to critically reflect on their influence on the learning environment and improve their practice acordingly.
Staff member B is my most energetic and motivated staff member. They are constantly seeking advice and feedback on performance and show an ability to critically reflect and adapt their practice. They sit in a staffroom across the other side of the school, which should result in a spreading of the influence of the project. The fact that they like to talk about their teaching will aid this process. This will also encourage me to leave the main HPE staffroom more often to interact with my other staff. This staff member is well organised and always works within timelines. They seem to thrive in team situations, although I see the potential for leadership within them.
So now I am getting excited. At this point there are three priorities that need to be addressed. First and foremost I need to formalise the plan for the project. As it is an action learning project I need to frame it as such. This includes the recruitment of critical friends. I’d like to have critical friends for each of the following aspects;
- syllabus implementation
- staff development
- student achievement and satisfaction data
- pedagogical practices
- digital pedagogy (incl. use of specific tools and processes)
There may be other areas I incorporate critical friends and no doubt they will become evident in the plan formalisation process. I have not yet identified the requirements or commitment of critical friends, but if you are interested in being one for this project then I encourage you to let me know. If you can’t dedicate the time (I know we are all busy) there will be opportunity to read our progress and comment as such.
Secondly I need to provide a range of readings to my staff to increase their understanding of transformative theory. I will do this through the creation and transfer of a Zotero notebook, demonstrating to them the use of such technologies that I want incorporated into the project. Thirdly, we need to meet to refine the work program so that it enables the success of the project. Aspects like the use of physical activities that allow the teachers to be “close” in the early stages. Our classroom is next to our hall, so if the first unit of work has an activity in the hall the teachers will be relatively close. This will enable student choice and teacher support of each other.
I can feel the momentum building. I am excited, I am heartened by my staff’s excitement. And I am strong due to your support. Those that are reading this and sending comments via the blog, twitter, email or facebook are keeping me strong. Thanks to those who have already volunteered to be a critical friend.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
Hi Shane – so excited that its all going so strong! Just to see a project like this get up even tho its a very different context (senior HPE vs primary learning support) shows everyone that the move to true student-driven etc learning is possible. I’m getting the same feelings from my own smaller personalised learning trial – never felt so happy about being a teacher!
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Hi Shane,
Your posts around this project are really great reading. As Jonathan said, great to hear about transformative and personalised learning happening in a really different context (senior HPE).
Reflecting on our year setting up BBSS and our learning environment, it has all come down to the time each individual has to invest. Time to think, time to rethink, time to plan, time to reflect, time to research, time to implement. For me (and I’m sure, for many teachers) the quality of my pedagogy is directly linked to the time I have available to invest. From completing the DPLA and other learning I’ve done, I’m aware of ‘the goal’ and what effective practice looks like, but the challenge is whether can I physically stay up that late to do all I need to!
So, now you’ve got 2 of your colleagues on board, how can you ensure time is made available for these people to invest in your project? Could your admin provision additional time for these teachers based on their commitment to the project?
Just ideas…
Looking forward to more, Shane. Keep up the ‘thinking out loud’!
November 4th, 2009 at 6:35 am
Joe, good question and one that has been in my thinking. I’m expecting these two to learn and adapt quite a radical amount and if support is not there it will block success. I am able to not allocate myself a class on that particular line so that at any stage I can “sub in” to give them time to learn, access or generate content or any other relevant tasks. Within my budget I’ve allocated funds for their PD, including TRS to enable their release. For the benefit of the project I would not release them simultaneously. I can also attempt to have their spare line occur at the same time to facilitate meetings and discussions.
Admin won’t provision time, this can’t be done equitably across the school. There are 13 HODs, and all could say they have a project they want supported. This is why I have chosen to support it within my faculty only.
Thanks for the questions, and helping me think out loud.
November 17th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Hi Shane
I love the idea of this project. I am currently writing the health program for our school (as it is the first time that we will have the subject), and am very keen to integrate this type of learning into the subject. Would love to be a critical friend to help you on this journey.
Good Luck and cant wait to hear about it.
Amanda
November 18th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Amanda, thanks for your kind offer. I’ll be in touch regarding the role of a critical friend. We will report publicly on the project so anyone can see what we have found to work, and what we found doesn’t for us. I think the key is support of the staff to take time to learn the new approach. This will be a challenge forthem as much as it is for the students. Good luck with the Health Ed program, let me know if I can help there.